Reflections on Literacy Learning and Literacy Teaching: Decoding and Reading Independence by Denise D. Nessel
…
That’s why knowledgeable teachers have for years helped children develop the habit of
asking themselves these questions when they come to a word they don’t know:
What word makes sense here, given what I’m reading about?
What word makes sense and sounds right at this place in the sentence?
What word sounds right here, given the letters I’m looking at?
When children are encouraged to ask these questions when figuring out a word, they increase
their independence as readers and increase their reading effectiveness. A reliance on phonics
alone, or phonics primarily, is incompatible with both.
To help children become more self-reliant, it’s a good idea to remind them periodically to ask
the three questions of themselves when they’re reading on their own. Children also benefit
from sharing how they’ve figured words out on their own. Having them think about and share
their thinking—metacognition—bolsters independence and improves performance. It’s also a
good idea to tell children not to get too stuck on a word when they’re reading on their own. If
they can’t figure something out, despite their best efforts, they should just continue reading.
The word may not be critical to their overall understanding, and if it is critical, they will
almost certainly see it again and have other chances to figure it out.
One measure of effective teaching is what the learners can do when the teacher isn’t there to
help. Helping youngsters use multiple sources of information when they’re figuring out unfamiliar words is one good way to foster independence.
Article here
